Air pistol



O ct. 17,1950 G. E. VAN BLARcoM AIR PISTOL .Filed Sept. 30, 1947 Patented ct. i7,

- UNITED STATES l PATENT OFFICE' y' l i 2,526,305

AIR PISTOL George E. Van Blarcom, Coldwater, Mich.. Application september 3o, 19747, serial No. 7516,979'

4 oiaims. (C1. 124-45) This invention relates .to an Vimproved air pistol for shooting pellets or the like, and: is a continuation in part of the'applicants cepending application Serial No. 728,358, filed February 13, 1947, now abandoned. n Y

The principal objects of this invention are to provide a single-shot air pistol which shoots lead pellets or the like, and which is of an extremely simple construction so as to make the `manufacture of the same relatively inexpensive; to`

provide an air pistol of the aforementioned type in which the barrel and air cylinder are inter connected and intercommunicated sogas to constitute a single assembly; to provide', in an air,

of the aforementioned type a trigger mechanism v for engaging and holding the aforementioned combination piston rod and cocking lever in a cocked position, and Aoperable to release the same so as to shoot the pistol and project the pellet from the end of the barrel thereof; and to provide in general an improved, efficiency operating and simply constructed air pistol.

These and other objects of this invention ywill loecome apparent from the following detailed :description taken in conjunction with the :accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l isa vertical sectional view taken through the longitudinal axis of the air pistol of this invention; K

Fig. 2 is a sectional view ofthe structure illustrated inhFig. 1 taken substantially along the line 2-2 thereof; and l Fig. 3 isv an enlarged fragmentary view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1 taken within the circlethereof.

Referring now .to the drawing. it will be seen that the air pistol includes a barrel 5 having a smooth longitudinally extending bore l.V rThe forward portion of the barrel 5 is surrounded by a barrel housing 9. A ring-like member ,Il is disposed between the front end of the barrel 5 and the barrel housing 9 and has a frontsight .I3 formed thereon-which j projects; upwardly through a slot I 5-in'the forward end of the barrel housing. The member II 4is suitably secured, as ;by solderingpr Ypress, fitting engagement to the barrel and in thevbarrel housing. The-eX- treme rear end of the barrel 5is taperedfinwardf. 1r an.i f.rearwar1lr gat Il zio prorii. a slightly 2 reduced Ybore portion in which a pellet, which is inserted from the forward end of the barrel, will be held in preparation for being shot from the pistol, as will be hereinafter described.

The rear end of the barrel 5 projects into an aperture 2| of an end member I 9, and is soldered, or otherwise suitably secured to the end meinber. The rear end of the aperture 2l is closed by a plug 23, which is removable .to permit removal of any obstruction which may be in the barrel or in the aperture 2 I.

A cylinder 25 is disposed below the barrel 5 and extends substantially parallel thereto. V,The rear end of the cylinder 25 embraces a boss 21 of the end memberl I9, and is suitably secured thereto, such as by soldering. The boss 21 on end member I9 is formed with a central rearwardly extending recess or chamber 29 which communicates with the bore 3i of the cylinder v25. The recess 29 in end member, and the apertur'eZI, are communicably connected by a, passageway 33. Thus the rear end of the barrel bore v"I isVV communicated with the rear end of thecylinder bore 3|, and the barrel 5, barrel housing 9, end member I9 and the cylinder 25 are interconnected to form a single assembly.V

A piston assembly 35 is disposed withinfnthe cylinder bore 3l and comprises, as can be best seen in Fig. 3, a rear piston 31, and a forward piston 4I which isY disposed in longitudinallyY spaced relation with respect to the rear piston. IThe rear-piston'l has a rearwardly projecting boss 39 formed thereon which is adapted gtobe slidably received in the forward end of the recess 29, for reasons which will appear hereafter.v The front piston 4I is provided with a forwardly projecting boss 43. y

A reversely looped combination piston rod and cocking lever 45 has its piston rod portionll'l disposed within the cylinder bore 3l. Thememvloer 4,5 is preferably made of wire and'is reverse.- Vly bent intermediate its ends to provide a loop .vportionl48,at the forward end of the piston rod portion 4l, and a cocking lever portion49 which extends rearwardly from the looped portion 48,

i parallelto the piston rod portion. The rear end yofthe portion lll of the piston rodfextends through aligned apertures 59 and 5I of the pis-- tons 4I and 3l,v respectively. A collar 53 is vformed on the piston rod 4l, adjacent the rear end thereof, which abuts against the front face of the front piston boss 13. The extreme rear end of the piston rod 4l is peened over at 55 so that the piston assembly 35 is securedbetween the peened end and the collar 53. t will be noted that the rear end of the rear piston rod aperture 5I is countersunk at 51 so as to provide clearance between the rear end face ofthe piston boss 39 and the peened end 55 of the piston rod; feria, reason which will hereinafter appear.

An annular, concave-convex leather packing ring 59 is disposed between the adjacent faces of the pistons 31 and 4| and has its inner periphery engaging the outer peripery of the piston rod 41. The packing ring 59 is corrugated in cross section and the rear face of the front piston 4| is provided with a groove 6| in which the ridged portions of the packing ring 59 are seated. The outer periphery of the packing ring 59 engages the wall of the cylinder bore 3l so as to prevent the flow of air around the piston assembly 35, during rearward movement of the latter.

A coil spring 63 surrounds the piston rod 41 and has its rear end embracing the front piston boss 43. The piston assembly 35, the combination piston rod and cocking lever 45 and the spring 63 thus constitute a second assembly which may be easily inserted in the above described cylinder and barrel assembly so as to provide a unit which is embraced and supported by a pistol main housing 61.

The pistol main housing 51 includes a hand grip portion 59, a trigger guard portion 1I and a hollow upper portion 13 in which is disposed the aforementioned unit. The housing 61 is formed by two housing sections, namely a righthand section 15 and a left-hand section 11, which are split along the longitudinal axis of the air pistol. The housing sections 15 and 11 may be made of any suitable material and may be cast, 'stamped or the like. Each of the housing sections 15 and 11 is suitably recessed to receive the barrel housing 9, theY end member I9 and the cylinder 25, so that the barrel and cylinder assembly m'ay be positioned in one of the housing sections 15 or 11, prior to the positioning of the other housing section thereon so as to embrace the barrel and cylindrical assembly as well as the piston and cocking lever assembly. The two housing sections are secured together by any suitable means such as rivets or screws 19. The housing sections 15 and 11 are also each provided with la longitudinally extending recess 8l in which the cocking lever portion 49 is slidably received and supported. Each ofthe housing sections, forwardly of the recess for the cylinder 25, is provided with a reduced recess 83, within which the forward end of the spring 63 is coni-ined, so that when the piston assembly and piston rod are pulled forwardly to cock the pistol, the spring 63 will be compressed.

In assembling Ythe pistol, the barrel and cylinder assembly is placed in its recesses in one housing section, the cocking lever portion 59 is placed within its housing section recess 8i, the frontend of the spring y63 is confined in the housing' section recess `83, the other housing section is placed in position, and the two housing sections are secured together by the screws or rivets 19, so as to properly embrace and conne the aforementioned assemblies.

A trigger 85 is pivotally mounted in the trigger lguard portion 1l of the main housing 61 by a 'pin-81. The trigger 85 has a nose 89 on itsI front fiace which is adapted to engage the rear end of the cocking lever 49 so as to hold the same in its forward cocked position. The front face of the trigger v85 is vprovided with a second nose 9|, which when the trigger `is holding the cocking lever in its `cocked position will abut a shoulder 92, v"of the trigger guard, so as to Ylimit upward movement ofthe trigger with respect thereto. A hairpin-type spring 93 is connected at 95 to the trigger 'and `has Vits free end engaging the underside of a pin 91, in the housing hand grip portion 69. The hairpin spring 93 normally tends to retain the trigger in the position shown in dotdash lines in Fig. 1, that is, in its uppermost position so as to hold the cocking lever in its cocked position. By squeezing the lower portion of the trigger the nose 89 is moved downwardly away from the rear end of the cocking lever 49 so as to permit the cocking lever to slide rearwardly in the housing recess El.

In operation, when it is desired to shoot the air pistol, a pellet or the like is inserted in the forward end of the barrel 5 and the pistol is tipped upwardly to cause the pellet to slide rearwardly in the barrel bore and be retained in the tapered portion I1, at the rear end thereof. The combined cocking lever and piston rod is then grasped by the user at the loop 48 and pulled forwardly to the position illustrated in dot-dash lines in Fig. l. When this occurs the piston assembly 35 is moved forwardly within the cylinder 3 i, and the spring 63 is compressed. The cocking lever 49 is pulled forwardly until it passes the nose 89 on the front face of the trigger, whereupon the trigger, under the action of spring 93, will move up into the recess 8l in the underside of the housing so as to engage the rear end of the cocking lever 49. The pistol is then cocked and ready for use with the pellet therein. When the trigger 85 is squeezed the cocking lever is released and the combined cocking lever and piston rod is forced to the rear by the coil spring 63, thus forcing the piston assembly 35 to the rear and compressing and forcing air rearwardly through the cylinder 3|, the chamber 29, the passageway 33, and the aperture 2l, into the rear end of the barrel bore 1. The air is then forced forwardly through the barrel bore 1 and shoots the pellet, under high pressure, out the front end of the barrel. The piston 31 is prevented from slapping against the portion of the end member I9 which forms the end wall of the cylinder 25 by the air which is `trapped between-the piston and cylinder end wall when the piston boss 39 enters the recess 29 of the end member.

lThe countersunk end V51 of the piston aperture 5'I permits a limited amount of play between the pistons 31 and 4l, kwhen the piston assembly 35 is pulled forwardly, so as to cock the pistol. This provides a looser fit between the packing ring and cylinder bore 3i when the pistol is cocked, so as to make the cocking easier. Due to the concaveconvex shape of the packing ring 59, it will emciently seal and prevent leakageof air,'when the pistol is shot. Y

It will thus be seen that an improved air pistol is 'provided `in which the working parts are constructed in two assemblies, which may be easily interconnected-and which can be easily connected to the main housing 61. Likewise, it willbe noted that the combined piston rody and cocking lever element is inexpensive to manufacture due to its wire construction, and provides a simple vand efficient means for cocking the pistol. It can thus be appreciated that the pistol herein illustrated and described is relativelyinexpensive to manufacture and especially eiiicient in operation.

I claim:

1. An air pistol, including a barrel, a cylinder disposed below said barrel and extending substantially parallel thereto, a one-piece end member directly connected to and supporting both the rear end of the cylinder and the rear end of said-barrel so vas to maintain the rear barrel and cylinder portions :in Jspaced substan- S tially parallel relationship, passageway means in said end member communicating the rear end of said barrel with the rear end of said cylinder, a piston disposed in said cylinder, cooking means connected to said piston for moving the same longitudinally in said cylinder, housing means including a handle trigger guard portion detachably embracing said barrel, cylinder and end member said cooking means including a member connected with said piston and having a portion projecting forwardly beyond the connes of said housing means for manual direct actuation, and trigger means pivotally mounted in said housing trigger guard portion andadapted to engage and hold said cooking means in a cocked position, said trigger means being operable to release said cocking means to cause said pistol to shoot.

2. An air pistol, including a barrel, .a barrel housing encompassing the front portion of said barrel and connected at its forward end to the forward end of said barrel, a one-piece end member directly connected to the rear end of said barrel, a cylinder connected to said end member ybelow said barrel so that said barrel and cylinder are positively maintained in a spaced predetermined relationship, a passageway in said end member communicating the rear end of said barrel with the rear end of said cylinder, a piston disposed in said cylinder, a rod connected to the forward end of said piston and projecting forwardly through the forward end of said cylinder, -a two-piece housing including a handle trigger guard portion and a hollow upper portion in which is received and secured said aforementioned parts, a spring disposed in said cylinder and confined between the front end of said piston and said housing, said rod being reversely bent forwardly of said housing with its reversely bent rod portion extending back through and being slidably supported in said housing below said cylinder, and a trigger pivotally mounted in said housing trigger guard portion adapted to engage and hold said piston rod in a cocked position, said trigger being operable to release said piston rod to cause said pistol to shoot.

3. An air pistol, including a pellet receiving and ejecting unit, including a barrel, .a barrel housing encompassing the frontportion of said barrel, means securing the forward end of said barrel to said barrel housing, an endA member connected to the rear end of said barrel, a cylinder connected to said end member below said barrel, a passageway in said end member communieating with the rear end of said barrel and the rear end of said cylinder, a piston disposed in said cylinder, a rod connected to the forward end of said piston and projecting outwardly through the forward end of said cylinder; a twopiece housing including a handle trigger guard portion and a hollow upper portion in which is received and secured said pellet receiving and ejecting unit, said housing including right and left-hand sections separated along the longitudinal axis of said housing, means for securing said housing sections in position solas to embrace and support said unit therein, a spring disposed in said cylinder and confined between the front end of said piston `and said housing, said piston rod being reversely bent forwardly of said housing to provide means for pulling said piston forwardly within said cylinder so as to cock said pistol, said reversely bent rod portion extending .back through and being slidably supported in said housing below said cylinder and above said guard portion, a trigger pivotally mounted in said holising trigger guard portion adapted to engage and hold said piston rod in its cocked position, said trigger being operable to release said piston rod to cause said pistol to shoot a pellet therefrom.

4. An air pistol, including a pellet receiving and ejecting unit, including a barrel, a barrel housing encompassing the front portion of said barrel, means including a front sight on the forward end of said barrel housing interconnecting the forward end of said barrel and said barrel housing, a one-piece end member connected to the rear end of said barrel, the rear end of said barrel being tapered to receive and holdl a pellet inserted from the forward end of said barrel, said end member having a chamber in longitudinal alignment with said barrel, a cylinder disposed below said barrel and extending substantially parallel thereto, the rear end of said cylinder being Xedly connected to said end member, said end member having a closed `chamber therein in longitudinal alignment and communication with the rear end of said cylinder, a passageway in said end member between said barrel chamber and said cylinder chamber, a piston disposed in said cylinder, a rod connected to the forward end of said piston and projecting outwardly through the forward end of said cylinder; a twopiece housing including a handle trigger guard portion and a hollow upper portion in which is received and secured said pellet receiving and ejecting unit, said housing including right and left-hand sections separated along the longitudinal axis of said housing, means for securing said housing sections together so as to embrace and support said unit therein a removable, eX- teriorly accessible plug closing said end member barrel aligned chamber, so that said barrel may be cleaned and oiled by removing said plug, without disassembling said housing, a spring disposed in said cylinder and confined between the front end of said piston and said housing, said piston rod being reversely bent forwardly of said housing to provide means for pulling said piston forwardly so as to cock said pistol, said reversely bent rod portion extending rearwardly and being slidably supported in said housing below said cylinder and above said trigger guard portion, a trigger pivotally mounted in said housing trigger guard portion adapted to hold said piston rod in its cocked position, said trigger being operable to release said piston rod to cause said pistol to shoot a pellet out through said barrel.

GEORGE E. VAN BLARCOM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 156,890 Quackenbush Nov. 17, 1874 182,899 Cross Oct. 3, 1876 190,893 OConner et al May 15, 1877 390,311 Pinckney et a1 Oct. 2, 1888 408,971 Hamilton Aug. 13, 1889 420,316 Stanley Jan. 28, 1890 1,310,745 Falk July 22, 1919 1,488,995 McCollom Apr. 1, 1924 2,306,668 Stevens Dec. 29, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 24,837 Great Britain 1907 

